RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vasco da Gama coach Ze Ricardo played down the club's failure to reach the semifinals of Brazil's Guanabara Cup, insisting that his top priority is the Copa Libertadores.
Vasco were eliminated from the tournament despite a 3-1 victory in their final group match against Volta Redonda on Sunday.
The Rio de Janeiro side will now turn their attention to the second leg of their Copa Libertadores qualifier against Chile's Universidad de Concepcao at home on Wednesday.
Vasco are firm favorites to advance to the next round after winning last week's first leg 4-0.
"I ask that the fans be patient," Ricardo said. "We have many young guys who are playing with us for the first time.
"We wanted to qualify for the [Guanabara Cup] semifinals, but our main priority is the Copa Libertadores. Now we are going to turn our whole focus to planning for the match on Wednesday."
Despite the ease with which Vasco won the first leg, Ricardo denied that his team's progress to the next phase of South America's top club tournament is a formality.
"The winning margin in the first match came as a surprise," he said. "Now it's up to us. We have to play our own game and respect the opponent. We have to be careful not to give away an early goal."
